Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Hardcore Gamer Magazine: Caveat Emptor

The past couple of issues of this magazine sported a full-page advertisement for IGE on the back cover.

I've never seen such a huge IGE ad before, and I was quite disgusted when I found it.

I mean the magazine isn't that great to begin with, but I supported it because of its affiliation with DoubleJump books, who are responsible for making some really fine strategy guides for games such as Disgaea 1 & 2, and SMT: Nocturne.

When the second issue came with this ad, I jumped over to their forums and basically told them to stop, since this was clearly insulting to their intended audience, and that the MMORPGers that work there should know better. I was a bit harsh in my choice of words, but I was justifiably angry. Of course I got flamed to hell and back by the forum fans, and the senior editor DJPubba, claims ignorance.

To his credit, though, he is 'researching' the matter although they are stuck in a contract for the next 10 issues.

I must confess I flamed a person on that thread, and in hindsight this was completely unnecessary and unfair, so I came back and apologized. Sometimes I do let my emotions get the best of me.

To any of you who subscribe to this mag; if you care about what your gaming news sources are endorsing, I would encourage you to email:

mail@hardcoregamer.comburr@hardcoregamer.com

Or set up an account on their forum and let your voice be known (use the existing thread).

HGM seemed to be doing fine before the IGE ads, so although it may be hard for them to wipe the $_$ out of their eyes and go with another customer, they really need to do it, or concede defeat to greed.

I know, but this goes beyond my own personal reaction and disgust. When people make decisions like this, where they assume that the ends justify the means, they need to be called on that decision... and there will always be party-poopers like myself who will do just that.

Especially in a case like this, where the agency they are supporting is not only distasteful (to say the least), but detrimental to certain aspects of videogaming.

It doesn't matter how much money the magazine is getting, it's just wrong and ultimately self-defeating. The means aren't justified. They're free to make that decision, but others are free to cancel subscriptions as well.

Think of it like this: what if a service that sells term papers got a full-page advertisement in an educational magazine? There would be quite a reaction from the readers, right?

But when it comes to games, I think a large part of the consumership doesn't want to think about stuff like this. They go for the content and ignore the medium. Then they turn around and complain when their gaming experience is being affected.

It's also a turning point for the people that work there really... Why are they publishing the magazine to begin with? Do they care about their job enough to make ethical decisions about what they're doing? Why not just sell the magazine off at that point.

Honestly... how many people openly codemn RMT, but still spend their extra cash on gil every now and then? It is a disgusting act for them to openly advertise such websites on their magazines, but in truth the market for RMT and gilbuyers is huge! If it were not, such websites would not exist, and SE would not be taking such "extensive" measures to ban RMT accounts.

Just keep in mind the content of said magazine, and what you used to support them for, and just... let the RMT ad slide for now. You voiced your opinion, and even if you got flamed, it was still heard.

It's a shame they turned this way, but they might be getting as much support for that ad as they are getting flames.

They're locked in a contract for the time being, so there's not much they can do. I just hope they think it over a little before renewing anything.

Just a little personal background about why I'm miffed:

The RMT impact on the economy last year nearly made me quit the game... I busted my butt to make 4 million for the Hauby, and the price doubled nearly overnight. When the inflation didn't show any signs of slowing for months, and no announcements were being made by SE, I was getting worried about how much longer I could actually stick with the game.

A warrior named Uberman saw my pissed off rant on Alla (oh the irony) and sold me his Hauby for 4 mil, foregoing the 4-5 mil additional profit he could have made.

That is why I kept playing, and it's also why I think the RMT culture is basically a giant tumor on the game.